Lords of Chaos
by HubrisP
Summary: FOTJ AU. Ben Skywalker had always felt special in one way or another, but he never had something or someone to compare with, until Abeloth was freed with the appearance of a new Dark Lord of the Sith that calls to Ben. Meanwhile, Darth Plagueis's legacy begins its machinations to complete a Sith Prophecy, that foretold to gradually destroy the Galaxy, to birth a new Sith Empire.
1. Chapter 1

Darkness, Darkness was the main event of this day and the Master of Hate was assured that the youth before him had been prepared exactly as he had been promised, a practitioner of Sith Sorcery nearby finishing up the Ritual that would allow the lingering spirit of the Dark Lord of the Sith to walk the Universe again. Then again, he had to give the Sorcerer a level of respect that was well earned in the eyes of this ancient Sith Lord, to actually reconstruct such a young body but with the exact genetic specifications that he had held while alive and the exact Midi-chlorian count required for it to be a… acceptable Host body was no easy task.

Then again should the great Tulak Hord – Lord of Hate, the Master of the Gathering Darkness, Dark Lord of the Sith – care about the worthiness of a simple Slave, bound to his will, forced to serve even his lowest of whims?

An interesting philosophical question, a question that had been on his mind throughout these thousands of years as he fed on the innocent and having lost near all his potential in the Force because he allowed his slave – his Sith Apprentice – to_ literally_ stab him in the back, a mistake on his part and one that he inspired not ever to repeat ever again. If he were to take any apprentice or ally, he would keep them on a tight leash until their usefulness was expired, once he had gained an actually living body… that is. But one Slave never did betray him now that he thought about it, a honor-bound Dashade – Khem Val, they had grown into friendship and the fact that Dashade honored their pledges of servitude allowed Tulak to drop his guard around the monster.

"It is done, my Lord." bowed the Sorcerer, as he stepped back from the Altar, his very stance radiating subservience.

Wasting no time the disembodied Sith spirit dove into the young body that had been custom prepared for him and raised up gasping for the life gases that he had been denied for so long, to have the power to direct the Force in any vicious way he wanted was a gift upon Hord as he reached out with the Force and snuffed out the life of a weak and unbroken Force sensitive kept prisoner in this private Retreat, the private Retreat on Rhen Var of one Hego Damask who had become less widely known as Darth Plagueis the… not so Wise. Did he not fall for the same mistake, and give his apprentice such loose shackles, as Hord had done so and yet even after the repeating cycle of this mistake not learn this obvious lesson? Then you see the lack of wisdom.

"As pertaining the Sith, and giving that I have been brought back into an updated naming system, I believe that it is courteous for me to take upon a new name and the title of Darth. Is that so?" asked Hord, his glare all but melting the face of his Sorcerer companion.

"It is so, my Lord, I know that it is… unfamiliar to you, but…" started the Sorcerer, however Hord's raised hand silenced him.

"There is no issue. Henceforth I shall take the name, Darth… Stygius," announced Hord, now set in his new name and role. "Kneel."

The Sorcerer did so and Hord, now Stygius, stared down at the head of the man before him and smirked darkly. This man had been a philosopher of the Sith ways for so long and yet he had never taken a rank to himself, never announced his intentions in the Force and had remained somewhat loyal to the Spectre that had haunted these halls while he had researched deep into Sith Sorcery, Stygius considered this heavily and came to the decision that he should reward the fool – Regan Seshel – for everything he had done up to this point.

"It is a rare event when a member of our rank becomes a Lord among Sith – probably more so in the old days when we ruled over the Pureblood Sith, this is one of those rare honors. Rise Regan Seshel, Lord of the Sith!" commanded Stygius, and knighted the Sorcerer.

"Thank you, Master." nodded Regan, standing when Stygius motioned to.

"Go forth and tend to the other Acolytes, in a few hours bring me reports about our situation and current Galactic affairs, I will then decide on a course of action then." instructed Stygius, and with a bow, Regan left his Master to begin his thoughts.

* * *

Ben Skywalker found himself in an odd place, not quite a dream but not a vision either, an outer body experience. He found himself totally bare in a white environment and a throne sitting on a raised platform at the back, this magnificent white hall was spherical in shape and Ben only just realized that it rippled as though it were a bubble in water, but standing head of him equally bare and observing the throne was a youth approximately his age – a mane of black hair that seemed to have an odd blue tint to it from the odd light generated by this room and a broad back.

"Who are you?" asked Ben, his voice seemed to echo in this empty room.

The young man briefly turned to face him and pale sea blue eyes stared at him under his hooded locks and simply gestured to approach as he turned back to look at the throne, judging it and considering its purpose in the grand scheme of Galactic affairs, as Ben approached while curious at the rippling effect every step his feet took immediate interest in the familiarity he had with the throne and then immediately noticed that the it was the Throne of Balance.

"Yes, it is that very same throne," announced the young man, his well-disguised but powerful muscles flexing under his skin, with every breath he took. "To sit upon that throne, two things will happen, you will rule the Galaxy with the power of the Force or… you will become a Slave to the Will of the Force."

"My cousin is destined for that throne…" started Ben and the stranger made a dismissive gesture.

"A Slave indeed, only one who wields the calmness of light in the mind but dominates the power of Darkness can sit on that Throne a Master of the Force and their destiny, to sit on the Throne of Balance one must be at Balance with themselves and the Force." announced the Stranger, who smirked when Ben tensed up.

"And I asked you who you are?" questioned Ben insistently, the Stranger smirked, motioning with Telekinesis until words appeared on the wall of the bubble room: Dhor Kutla.

"This very room exists within the Force," announced Dhor as he trailed around Ben, pacing calmly, looking up and down as he analyzed everything of Ben Skywalker's nude body with total interest. "It takes someone a lot of concentration to reach this plane of existence, deep meditation and practice, the only person other than yourself to reach this realm in their dreams would be… well, me."

"So, we're both dreaming?" asked Ben, and shuddered slightly, as Dhor trailed a finger down the indenture between the muscles of Ben's back right on the skin over Ben's spine.

"I have mastered the art of meditation, and currently I use it to reach this place, but you are here as bare as I am but not of your own accord. Never, do usual come here – not a Jedi, or a Skywalker and not a Sith. You and I are here for a reason," explained Dhor, before coming to a stop behind Ben. "It may have something to do with the Sith, no matter; we shall meet soon enough and discuss what will need to be done."

The room suddenly flexed as ripples appeared in the walls and floor causing Dhor to raise an eyebrow in humor, currently unaffected by the changes as Ben was and then he realized that he was waking up while Dhor was still mentally projecting himself into this space, Ben felt the entire room fall away from him as the conscious world returned to him and the last think he saw was the smirk on Dhor's face as he too faded from sight.

* * *

Dhor Kutla sat calmly as his custom black YT-1930 transport flew on Auto-pilot down into the unnamed planet in the Maw with an annoyed sigh, it seemed that the Jedi and the Sith were already seeking her out even before he had arrived in the Maw and this caused Dhor to growl lightly, the entity named Abeloth was necessary for the Grand Design set down by the Sith from ancient times as stated by the great Tulak Hord himself. The Dark side was the first thing born from Chaos, the Sith needed to work to return the Universe back to Chaos, and Abeloth was herself the Bringer of Chaos and so would act like a… Hyperspace beacon for the primordial essence that birthed the Universe and would one-day devour it all once again.

"Welcome to Chaos, eh Mother?" snickered Dhor as he stood from, picking up the black mask he would use as the face of Darth Stygius, for now anyway.

With a victorious smirk on his face he stood and pressed a button to lower the boarding ramp as the transport finally set down on its landing struts, with cape billowing behind him the Dark Lord of the Sith made his way through the transport and pulled his hood up, closing and locking the transport boarding ramp before setting out to start a ripple that would consume the Galaxy itself.


	2. Chapter 2

Darth Stygius leapt over upheld rocks and outcrops as he made his way towards the volcanic mountain in the distance where Abeloth waited patiently and played with her Jedi and Sith pawns, his mother was having fun but that in itself had a time-limit which would end when the Jedi either found her or when he arrived to see her playing Jedi-Sith knockdown, it was a necessary evil that Stygius found it commodious to think about the pain his Mother would be causing the Jedi but then again… they always were arrogant and self-righteous fools.

Overlooking the Courtyard-like clearing where Abeloth danced between the Sith and the Jedi with a bored expression behind his mask as he dropped straight down off the cliff-like walls and used the Force stealthily to cushion his fall, bending his legs halfway at the knees before returning to a straight position upon landing on the ground level, sending a Telepathic warning ahead he released a massive amount of Dark side energy and exploded outwards in a Force Push which knocked Jedi and Sith to the far cliff wall of the clearing. Abeloth, being the one that he had telepathically warned, managed to erect a barrier of Telekinetic energy and was the only one unaffected as she was now she grinned in his direction.

"About time you got here, Lord of Hate," announced Abeloth, humored by his appearance.

"I was preoccupied building myself a new Lightsaber. As important and unchanging as you are, you cannot rush art in the making," countered Stygius calmly, he patiently walked towards Abeloth, scowling as High Lord Sarasu Taalon glared in defiance at him.

"You dare…" started Taalon, blasting Force lightning at Stygius, but the Dark Lord of the Sith absorbed it into his hand with a hidden bored expression which quickly morphed to rage.

"Fool! I have more power in the tip of this finger," snarled Stygius, pointing the index finger of his right hand at High Lord Taalon. "Then you do in your whole body! Now perish."

Out of the extended hand a blast of pure Force lightning that took on a pale blue, almost white, color that slammed into Taalon before he could erect any form of defense. The screaming took a few seconds but finally Stygius ceased to project lightning and lowered his arm with a disgusted expression, to think that a Sith who had claimed for himself the title of High Lord was unable to erect even the frailest of defenses against him – even a failed attempt, was disgusting and utterly pathetic to the extreme.

"So, what is your bidding, Dark Lord of the Sith?" asked Abeloth, crossing her arms and smiling like a proud mother.

"We shall retire to my Vessel and set course for the rendezvous point, I offer the chance for all Sith here to accompany me. Cast off the shackles of the Tribe, come and be Sith instead of playing the part!" announced Stygius, motioning to back the way he had come, before facing the body of Taalon. "But first, I best deal with him."

Making motions with his hand and channeling the power of the Dark side of the Force as he called on a Ritual-like version of Force drain, he calmly watched as High Lord Taalon's body expired and collapsed into Dark side energy which he too absorbed as the purple colored energy sailed from where the High Lord had been, being absorbed into the palms of Stygius' hands as he gave a little sigh in the enjoyment of his snack even if it had been hardly strong enough to be considered that.

"And what about the Jedi?" asked Abeloth, cautiously moving towards the nearby path which would allow her to escape the gorge, and make her way to Stygius's ship.

"I shall deal with them, go!" commanded Stygius as he drew his lightsaber, a wicked golden Electrum lightsaber with a Black Mandalorian Iron over shell plate that the activator button was mounted upon, sticking out on the sides of the blade emitter were two parallel black claws and two parallel gold claws that in truth were made of Cortosis painted to those colors to deceive.

Interestingly, a Sith Saber was the first to move as she attempted to follow through with the original mission that the High Lord had set down for them and her intent bled in the Force, she didn't get far as Stygius sidestepped her charged and brought his customized Lignan crystal generated red blade down upon her causing her to be sliced in two at the waist before Stygius drained what little energy there was in her body for himself. This action set into motion a chain of events as countless Sith followed her lead while others, led by Sith Saber Gavar Khai gave a salute of loyalty with their lightsabers in Stygius' direction, before heading back to their dropships to commandeer the Fleet of Chasemaster Frigates in orbit in preparation for what would follow after this grand opening made by Stygius.

Stygius meanwhile had spun around and caught the youngest Skywalker in a Force Whirlwind when he and his father were attempting to sneak past, he smirked darkly behind his mask as he used a burst of Telekinesis to pull part of the cliff above them falling downwards which the falling stone would hold the attention of the elder Skywalker for quite some time, giving enough time for Stygius to destroy the remaining rogue Sith and drain them of their very life and potential in the Force. As he stood calmly with legs apart, he glared at the Skywalkers whom had escaped their various labors, and now looked in his direction with something like surprise on their faces.

"Don't be so surprised, these Sith were piss-poor copies of true Sith. Emulate Sith Warriors as much as they like, they lacked the skill and power to challenge me at all," announced Stygius calmly, masked face turned in their direction. "Any designs you have of winning or defeating Abeloth, you may as well abandon them now, for I shall not give any ground until Abeloth has successfully left the planet."

* * *

Meanwhile, back on Rhen Var the Sith Sorcerer Regan Seshel was once again working on the next stage of his family project, a project that had been passed down from Father to Son since his Great-Grandfather had briefly trained under Darth Plagueis. His newest Ritual was specifically meant to recreate life once again however the life it would create was that of the most recent dead and was far more complicated as it required Seshel to draw a Spirit from Chaos itself, fortunately a fragment of the spirit he was going to call up was deeply imbedded within the Holocron before him and he sighed in relief when he successfully transferred a fraction of that essence into the Muun body before him.

For three generations his family had been given control of the Platus Corporation, the successor to Darth Plagueis's Damask Holdings, and had been setting down the groundwork for the Prophecy of the Twin Chaos that Darth Plagueis had become a follower years before his eventual death. He had made sure that it had been based far from habitable worlds as Plagueis had foreseen the future and the coming of the barbarian Yuuzhan Vong that would tear asunder the Galaxy, as such this decision had allowed the Platus Corporation to flourish while others suffered from the Yuuzhan Vong and the Platus Corporation's contractors had made a major profit off the Yuuzhan Vong War and the following Second Galactic Civil War. Even now factories on the planet Mustafar produced millions of a Construction droids that were building habitable structures on Hoth and Rhen Var for private reasons, basically the main purpose of these locations was to form a successful foothold for Dark Jedi and Sith throughout the Galaxy, who hunted by the Jedi flocked to these hidden cities and sought to further their knowledge of the Dark side of the Force.

These habitats had also been useful during the Yuuzhan Vong War when refugees that were disillusion with the New Republic had fled the invasion and now made discreet livings on the frozen planets, the Platus Corporation had made also a break for the Galactic Underground and the Galactic Black market via deals with the Hutt Cartel and the mining of spice including Lumni-spice on Hoth, using Galactic Alliance Legislation to their advantage the Tauntauns and Wampas had been placed under the protection of the Corporation's defense services thus making the Galactic Alliance Defense Force and the Jedi unnecessary in the system.

"Welcome back to the living world," announced Seshel, as he knelled on the ground, as the rip between the living world and Chaos sealed itself. "Master Plagueis."

The Muun opened its eyes, sitting up and turned so that he sat with its legs hanging off the bed rather than lay down on it, yellow eyes staring into the face of the Sith Sorcerer before him. Finally, after having a moment to stretch out his senses into the wider Galaxy, Plagueis smirked.

"So, the gears have been set in motion. They can't be stopped now!" announced Darth Plagueis, Dark Lord of the Sith, as he stood tall once again in over seventy years.

* * *

Darth Stygius was laughing as he dodged between Luke Skywalker and Ben Skywalker's lightsaber blades, shocking Ben with a bolt of Force lightning before releasing a Force Repulse that sent the two Jedi in opposite directions, he sensed his escape coming closer and used the Force to call the handful of Sith Saber lightsabers that contained Lignan Crystals to his hand before hanging them on his belt while dodging Ben and Luke's next attempt to take him down. It was wisdom, and the best action available, not to waste the rare resource of Lignan crystals to the Jedi.

The Jedi were soon forced back with projectiles falling upon them from above, as Stygius's black YT-1930 transport fired its bottom two Medium laser cannons down on the battlefield at strategic points and Stygius took this to his advantage, jumping up onto the open boarding ramp and tauntingly saluted at the two Skywalkers before the ramp sealed itself and the transport shot upwards towards open space.

* * *

In the Sojourn system in the Outer Rim, the _Transcendent Spear_, a Battlecruiser of 1,800 meters orbited over the moon of Sojourn that acted as the Rendezvous point as Eleven ChaseMaster frigates dropped out of Lightspeed. Once the authorization code was accepted they fell into orbit around the moon as well, a few minutes later a custom black YT-1930 transport fell out of Lightspeed with the Sith Meditation Sphere called _Ship_ following not far behind, once the authorization code was accepted the two Vessels speared upwards towards the Commander's Hanger found on the back of the Battlecruiser.

Darth Plagueis waited patiently before the Vessels and looked forward to the events that would occur soon enough, to look upon one of the two prophesied Lords of Chaos that had caused by rumor the descent of Plagueis from the rule of two in the first place, was a grand welcome back gift if there could be any such thing. The boarding ramp of the black transport descended, and Plagueis demeaned himself enough to drop down to a knee, head looking towards the ground with a savage grin on his face.

'Finally, we shall begin the destruction of the Galaxy, only to rebuild it in our image' was Plagueis' thoughts, as he heard the footsteps descending the ramp, and waited loyal for the Harbinger of Chaos to come before him.


	3. Chapter 3

It had taken much discussion but eventually a decision had been made between the two Skywalkers aboard the _Jade Shadow_ in regard to Abeloth and the Sith, with the power of Abeloth aligned with them it was possible that the Sith would next turn their attention upon the Galactic Alliance and therefore a warning would have to be made upon their allies at the New Jedi Temple, ironically the New Jedi Order was currently deeply entrenched on the capital world of the Galactic Alliance as Natasi Daala was sieging the New Jedi Order but apparently reports had just reached the _Shadow_that the Force psychosis had been suddenly cured and Daala had released the pressure on the New Jedi Order… somewhat.

"We need to go after the Sith," started Ben, but Luke simply shook his head.

"We don't know where the Sith are going, what resources they have, or who they have seduced to their side. It would be a fool's errand," countered Luke, as he bridged his fingers and rested his chin on his hands.

_"Actually Master Skywalker, I have to divulge information to counter that belief,"_ announced Jedi Master Cilghal, via Holocommunication. _"There have been reports of a fleet of new Imperial Vessels – the only fleet of their kind, while patrolling the Felucia system they have gone silent, however it is very possible that the planet Felucia has been made a bastion for Sith activity in the region."_

"Then we should head there?" asked Ben, however Cilghal shook her head.

_"There has also been a similar odd situation, a business takeover of the Cloud City tibanna gas mining colony has gone to records far too smoothly than previously expected,"_ continued Cilghal, briefly looking off in another direction, to judge the data she was bringing up. _"Incidentally it and another few companies that were recently taken over, have fallen prey to an almost undetectable percentage of transferred resources to an untraced source, although minor in percentage over time it does add up and…"_

"And the Jedi cannot be seen interacting with it directly as it would make the Chief of State... uncomfortable and suspicious, therefore, it is down to me and Ben to search out both areas at once?" asked Luke, before giving an annoyed sigh. "Ben shall go to Felucia; I will go to Cloud City, meanwhile I hope the Order attempt to overrule as many laws against the Jedi that have been founded. We cannot function, with the entire Galactic Alliance and its laws on our back."

_"As you… request, Master,"_ agreed Cilghal, before she cut the communication.

* * *

"As you can see, Lord Stygius," motioned Plagueis, as he continued the tour of the large Space Station built into the side of a giant – Hyperspace surviving – Asteroid, a mass production factory of gigantic scale. "I hope that the Foundry fits up to your expectations, it was once a legendary source of the Rakata Infinite Empire's Droid armies, a place in which to generate an infinite Army and a sibling of the legendary Star Forge."

"Which is out of our reach, giving that it blew up," commented a male voice, and a masked man with a hood stepped out of the shadows ahead, his Sith Armour had spikes coming out of its shoulder.

"Ah, Darth Marr, how good that you could join us. I feared that you would be still… recovering," announced Plagueis, with arms held wide, a smile on his face. "We were just getting ready for the meeting."

"This one also has the scent of the dead, on him," muttered Abeloth, tense beside Stygius, but looked thoughtful. "Are you really the same Darth Marr? A Dark Lord of the Sith, that sat as head of the Sphere of Defense of the Empire, during the reign of Emperor Vitiate?"

"Forgive me, my Lord," bowed Darth Marr suddenly, causing Stygius to raise an eyebrow. "I am one of the loyal Sith during the reign of our Sith Emperor, that became interested in the prophecy surrounding the Lords of Chaos, I am glad that the Prophecy is back on track and that one day the Empire will once again rise from the ashes under your command."

Nodding, Stygius led the group as they moved into the Inner Sanctum of the Foundry where a woman with short black hair framing her face stood waiting calmly, she had her arms crossed and her robes fit her frame nicely. The only ugly feature about her was possibly the glare she had, burning out of her chocolate brown eyes, which could turn yellow at an unexpected moment of rage and fury.

"Ah, my Lord, forgive me for not briefing you sooner. A most recent talent that I have found among the Sith, this is Darth Temero," announced Darth Marr, calmly. "Just as I specialize in the best usage of military Forces to defend the Empire and the breaking and corruption of Force-sensitive to the Dark side, Temero here is a Master of Sith Alchemy and Sorcery to alter beings and even combines this with Cybernetics, however her true research field is also in the manipulation of genetics and the creation of Bioweapons."

"And on that note, my apprentice is currently working on a new type of Sith poison to be used on Force-sensitives at her lab on Felucia, additionally the Genesis plague that we unleashed on the Imperial Forces in the Felucia system have left us quite a number of Military reserves. Plenty to begin our first actions against the Galactic Alliance!" announced Temero, as she stalked towards the group.

"We need more than a Fleet or a Droid Army, Lady Temero," cut off Stygius as he continued to walk, cleanly, passed her and made his way to the main console. "We will require Soldiers and well trained Sith, resources and worlds, to gain these objects we will need to be swift and smart."

"When I returned to Muunilinst earlier today, I found it much worse for wear than when I left this living world to begin with, but it seems that in his sentimentality, my former apprentice made my island of Aborah and its underground labs into one of his hidden Secret Storehouse. It went totally ignored by the Yuuzhan Vong, therefore everything he stored there went unharmed," inserted Darth Plagueis, as he came to stand behind Stygius, who worked at the main computer. "This included a seemingly small, by most standards, but impressively sized and active Cloning Laboratory. Additionally, with the aid of enough Ysalamiri for the Cloning laboratory we can begin producing, not the largest living army in the history of the Universe, but enough well trained soldiers to fill in the gaps of our Droid Army."

The Dark Lords of the Sith all considered this as they thought of their own ideas and methods to contribute to the growth of their near born Empire, each and everyone here had devoted their lives and their resources to the act of forging a new Empire from the ashes of the old Empire and desiccated corpses of failed Governments and Companies, indeed everything would need to be done quickly and go exactly as planned lest the Jedi or their precious Alliance catch wind of what was happening.

"Interesting, then I encourage all of you to take at least one apprentice and multiple Acolytes under your wing, we need to start also on founding a Sith Academy," requested Darth Marr, and nodding began among the gathered Sith.

"I will also be retiring shortly to the Dromund Kaas system, there is a technological project in orbit of the Star Dromund that is based off a design from Lord Marr's time – known as the Sun Razer, based off the Star Forge's capabilities I believe this modern day version will allow us to correct our… naval lacking in a very short amount of time. Until we have someone to head our Sphere of Technology, I will fulfill the required task," announced Darth Temero, bowing once, she made her way out of the room as construction machines throughout the facility whirled into production.

* * *

Ben Skywalker found the planet Felucia odd as he orbited it in his mother's modified Z-95 Headhunter and overlooking the world that seemed a mixture of shades of green, the planet was whirling in the Force and to an untrained Jedi the planet seemed to be deeply enthralled by the Dark side of the Force and therefore a danger to Galactic society, but Ben saw the truth rather clearly: the planet was in harmony with itself and the typical rules of the survival of the strong at the expense of the weak – harsh but in no way evil.

The new Cardan V-class space station, which had been placed in orbit to repair and resupply Imperial Forces patrolling the sector on behalf of their Treaty with the Galactic Alliance, was evil. The Dark side of the Force that he sensed permeated it like the odour of a massive Hutt in space, around the station seemed to be utterly immobile and unique Vessels that Ben recognised from the only records garnered on the new Imperial Vessels, Imperial Vessels that currently didn't exist in the minds of high ranked Imperial Politicians and Military Officers and in no less time than being lost a few days they had been covered up and forgotten.

Ben found it unlikely that such revolutionary Vessels would be opted from the minds of over a hundred people willingly and that human beings were capable of a memory wipe, it was highly likely that shortly before the schematics of these Vessels was uploaded to the flagship they Sith responsible for having them engineered had erased the memories of those that had known about the project, then the soldiers on board working in complete radio silence would have been either brutally killed or converted to the allegiance of the Sith and Ben sure hoped that it wasn't former of the two.

Suddenly, he felt a spark of Danger sense as he flipped the Z-95 Headhunter in another direction as the new Starfighters that had been previously frozen had suddenly powered up and were chasing him, additionally the people within those Starfighters were Force-sensitive and… wielders of the Dark side at varying levels – Lost Tribe Sith, obviously.

"Kriff!" cursed Ben, as he ducked his Starfighter under a new Vessel, a cruiser-analogue.

That was an _Eidolon_-class Cruiser, a powerful cruiser 1,100 meters long Imperialized equivalent design to a heavily upgraded and customized Bothan Assault cruiser, and to think that the Empire or whoever had inspired their creation had been planning to mass produce the monsters!

The Starfighters chasing Ben were _Supremacy_-class starfighters, also a new design they had the traditional ball-shaped Cockpit but on their back they had two connected pipes that were in fact extremely powerful thrusters, on their sides and flowing back onto the thruster pipes were wings with two smaller ones on top of the wings being S-foils that gave the Vessel better maneuvering during dogfights, the cockpit ball had two Laser Cannons and a single Ion Cannon but the Wings themselves had two powerful Assault Cannons that while packing a hell of a wallop seemed to do no recoil and the wings also contained multipurpose missile launchers for Proton Torpedoes and even Concussion missiles.

Ben cursed as he noticed that he had gotten too close to the Space station and its batteries rained down green fire towards him, turning he gained a number of hits by the Sith Starfighters chasing him and cursed as he pulled himself into the atmosphere of Felucia, his displays making him wonder if the Headhunter would make it down to the surface without being torn apart.

* * *

_"Lady Aprepeia, the Jedi has been forced down into the atmosphere,"_ announced a Sith Acolyte, via Holocommunication.

"Excellent, capture my new Test subject, I have a great many tests I want to try out. And I always wanted to see the effects my toxins would have, on a Skywalker," commanded Aprepeia, her crimson hair tied back in a loose bun.

Her Yellow eyes dilated in glee, she headed off deep into the Space Station to a location she had dubbed her 'inner sanctum', to prepare her lab for the new test subject she would soon get from the planet below.


	4. Chapter 4

Ben found himself in a new place this time and once again he was bare to the sight of those nearby and ironically – once again – only one person was there to witness his nakedness, once again it was the youth: Dhor Kutla, this place they found themselves projecting themselves into was dark and only lightened by craters of blood red fire and these were reflected by pools of sickly purple water.

"This is Chaos, a level of the Afterlife – the beginning and end of the Dark side and its users, here is where all life sprang from and will one day return to be destroyed. You already know this," announced Dhor, a cunning smirk on his shadowed face. "If you truly are whom you appear to be, not a Skywalker but something else entirely, then you have a feeling of homeliness here."

"And if I do? What about it?" questioned Ben, glaring at Dhor.

Dhor motioned with his hand and in the distance on the horizon where an ebony sea was located cyclones of blackened water rose up into the air, with a wave of his hand the cyclones fell back into the sea and made a large splash as they did so but to express his point further he clicked his fingers causing the air to ripple as though he controlled the air itself but then ceased the action, he smirked as he made his way towards Ben and caused Ben to gasp as he placed his cool hand on Ben's warm chest – right over his heart. Then, with a sly smirk, Ben felt himself being Force Pushed down the crater behind him and collapsing in a wall of blood red.

Ben gave a roar of outrage at this treatment and seemingly the coloured wall of blood red – the Pyres of Blood red flames – shot up like a volcanic eruption and launched boulders into the sky to Ben's surprise, Dhor seemed unbothered as he descended down into the crater and smirked when Ben raised himself to his feet expecting a confrontation between the seeming… equals, Dhor laughed lightly as he grabbed Ben's face and tilted it before lowering his face to look into Ben's eyes. That, and the feeling of lips on his own, was the last thing he saw or felt before awakening from his meditation.

* * *

Zekk growled lightly as the Jedi Knight ducked under a swing by a Lightsaber wielder on the planet Belsavis, this planet had been the dirty little secret of the Old Republic, New Republic and now even the Galactic Alliance. On this world were countless held criminals, some being so dangerous or even Force-sensitive that they had to be contained within stasis fields or Carbonite to make sure that they were not a threat however this came at the price of them lasting the ages unchanging and alive as they were even centuries before, yet now an unnamed Force Order – Dark Jedi or Sith by the glow of their Red Lightsabers – had mustered an army of Droids and was now raiding the prison world.

And all Zekk could do, was to aid the Hapes Forces and Galactic Alliance Forces here, as long as he possibly could.

* * *

The gathered Dark Lords of the Sith sat at their respective positions in the meeting room aboard the Foundry, those that could not make it were in the form of Holograms and many seat still remained empty of their rightful Rank holders, despite this Darth Stygius had thought it prudent to have the first official meeting with the beginnings of his personal Dark Council. At the Head of the Table was a chair in which Stygius sat on, down either side of the table was six further chairs each, and finally there was a chair at the far end apparently for the final Lord of Chaos once he joined their party. This wasn't so much what the future meetings would be like, eventually Stygius would retire from politics and allow his Dark Council to lead while only interfering via his Voice or when the Dark Lords came before him, this meeting room was a temporary necessity but if everything went as planned then by the year the Citadel on Dromund Kaas would be the first official base of the Dark Council.

"Our Forces have begun to siege Belsavis, cutting off all communication from the planet," announced Darth Marr, as he sat calmly at his spot at the long table.

"We still have no location where the Mother Machine is on the planet," commented Stygius with an annoyed sigh. "To keep this body, rather than burn out of it after the Drinking and Bathing ceremony at the Font of Power and Pool of Knowledge, I will need to harden this body in preparation for it becoming linked intimately with the full power of the Force!"

"We have Belsavis, and we also having retrieved from that prison planet a Nightsister that knows where the Holocron is hidden, she will be forced to lead us to the location or give up the Holocron. Her death will follow shortly," interjected Darth Marr, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Hopefully it is that Holocron which will lead us to Darth Nox's Son and Successor, who rumors have it, not only followed his father's path during his own rise to become a Dark Lord of the Sith but was a follower of the Lords of Chaos prophecy and placed himself into Carbonite with an entire army in preparation for that day."

"And you assume this Holocron will lead you to him or at least to a similar Sith aligned to us," commented Stygius, with a nod, before glancing at the Hologram of Darth Temero as she could not be here in person. "What reports from the Dromund system?"

"The Star Harvester is completed and is producing a massive amount of matter and energy, enough to turn Coruscant dark for a few centuries, if we were to drain energy from the surface of that planet. Better yet, we found an ancient Rakatan method to nurture matter out of the sun without having to exhaust vital matter required to continue it's the Star's life," announced Darth Temero's Hologram, which sat with a leg crossed. "We have also received the schematics of the Imperial Modernization Program Vessels, which we are now using to produce Vessels for the Navy."

"Excellent we will need those Vessels immediately; we must blockade the Belsavis sector. Hopefully, before the Republic or Hapes gets an incline of what is going on there," added Darth Marr, as he glanced at Temero's Hologram. "As well as the Nightsister, the Mother Machine is on Belsavis, and in addition, the number of Dark Jedi and Sith that have been kept in stasis throughout the ages would greatly bolster our numbers."

_"And give us a chance to find the final Lord of Chaos…"_ started Darth Plagueis' Hologram, who was busy recruiting another Dark Lord of the Sith on Korriban, he stopped talking when Stygius made a dismissive wave of his right hand.

"I know who he is and where he is, it is only a matter of time before he joins us," announced Stygius calmly, as he stood from his chair when he heard a beep from his personal communicator. "This meeting is adjourned, continue as you have been, and complete the resurrection of the Sith Empire!"

The various Dark Lords of the Sith either also stood and left the room or turned off their Holograms from their side of the transmission, after everyone had left the meeting room however Stygius pressed in a code and activated the large Hologram projector in the centre of the table, the hologram of Abeloth appeared with evident mobility behind her from people moving back and forth rapidly doing their task.

"What news from the Unknown Regions and the Killiks, Abeloth?" asked Stygius, as he sat back down.

_"They have begun producing the Space Station and Flagship you required, the Killiks may not have infinite resources but they make amazing progress, however it isn't enough. We need more supplies and workforce,"_ announced Abeloth, via Holocommunication. _"That is, __**if**__ we are to reach your imposed deadline, it would be a difficult race otherwise and may catch the attention of the Chiss and Alliance."_

"I'll create a supply chain of Construction Droids and raw resources, now… if that is all you have to report," announced Stygius, once again standing. "I have to dissect something from the Force, something Piras wishes to tell me."

Bowing Abeloth cut off her side of the communication, and after making sure that the supply line to the Unknown Regions had been forged, Stygius stood and marched out of the meeting room to retreat to the Station's Inner Sanctum to meditate. Wondering, what the spirit of the collective second Lord of Chaos, had to tell him that was so important that it could not wait until the second Lord fully awakened as Darth Piras.

* * *

Ben felt himself glaring as he return from his unconsciousness and his Healing meditations which had healed the wounds from the crash, now he had awakened to find himself in a Stasis chamber with a number of Sith and new Battle droids standing around the shuttle he was being placed into, a woman stepped forwards with her hair tied back in a bun and smirked at his contained form while all he could do was glare.

"Now that we have you, the one named Dhor Kutla, will be putty in our hands. Thank you, for obeying the Jedi so completely," announced Aprepeia, with a smirk. "You can thank them, in time, for every quiver of agony and searing pain I will deliver to you."

* * *

_'I see, thank you, Piras. I will be sure to act on your information,'_ announced Stygius, mentally, to the projected apparition in his mind.

_'The true Darth Temero has not sat at your table, not heard your commands, and not been on this Fortress. Be warned! You are betrayed!"_ warned Piras, directly into Stygius' mind, causing Stygius to smirk as Piras withdrew.

Stygius remained in that meditative state for another few moments before he span around and blocked a descending Lightsaber set to cleave him in two, a smirk wide on his masked face as he looked upon the woman who had claimed to be Darth Temero since the first time he had met her before pushing her back with a Force Push, the woman growled as she righted herself and her face covered over in shock as Stygius didn't raise himself to question her but instead watched as he calmly entered a Soresu form stance.

"Yes. I know that you are not Darth Temero, I know that you are the apprentice of Sith Lady Aprepeia," announced Stygius calmly, his smirk becoming a smile. "This is not a position of betrayal…"

"This… is an entrapment," announced a man behind her, pointing a Model 434 heavy blaster pistol into her back with his right hand, while also holding a Bent-handle Lightsaber held in his left hand. "I am – Apprentice Shelia Vhem – Darth Illusio, descendant of Captain Malavai Quinn of the Sith Empire and Dark Councillor of the Sphere of Imperial Intelligence, and we have known about you and your Master's plot for some time."

"It doesn't matter, I have an open communication channel on me to my Master, she now knows everything that has occurred here and will murder the reborn Piras!" snarled Shelia, she moved to slice at Stygius.

But the Sith Empire sidestepped her and with a single slice, chopped off her hand and sent that limb still clutching the Lightsaber spinning off through the Force field above and into open space where it would be probably smashed ironically between two Asteroids in the field beyond the Foundry. Her incapability to have dodged Stygius slash, coming from her stumbling from being shot in the shoulder by Illusio, hence leaving her open to Stygius' attack.

"I hate to disappoint you, no wait… that's a lie; I have no quarrel with it. I have been jamming all communications from this system since you landed," announced Illusio, as Droid reinforcements arrived led by HK-80, an upgraded design of HK-47 with the Protocol/Assassin personality of the original HK-47 that was destroyed on Mustafar. "Your master knows nothing!"

"Ah… your failure is now complete!" sneered Stygius, arms wide. "And now… so is your death."

Turning and followed by the Droids, Stygius glanced over his shoulder and saw a moment of Fold Space as Abeloth appeared from the rip in time-space, smirking as the screaming began he motioned with his hand and telekinetically closed the doors to the Inner Sanctum as Abeloth enjoyed her meal.

"The traitors did try to mislead you also, my Lord, the Star Harvester is actually in the Ziost system. I know this, because my Commandos managed to secure it and destroy Lady Aprepeia's forces before they could report to her," explained Illusio, pacing calmly. "But my Lord, I have to inquire what we shall do now about Lady Aprepeia."

"I will send my apprentice, and this shall be his crafting moment, the moment when he forges himself in Fire. The moment, when he becomes my Wrath and executes my enemies throughout the Galaxy," commanded Stygius, before stopping. "I have a mission for you and HK-80, with the coordinates and information I will program into K-Eighty, you will retrieve something of absolute importance to me."

"Is it something from your conversation with the spirit of Lord Piras?" asked Illusio, and Stygius gave him a blank glare.

"You'll find out when you get there, but let me promise you, it will change the Galaxy!" announced Stygius with glee, his senses going out to the Felucia system, where his executioner waited.


	5. Chapter 5

Darth Plagueis walked calmly into the heart of the Temple of XoXaan where Darth Wyyrlok the First stood defiantly against his approach, Plagueis insisted mentally that he was here to speak with Darth Krayt and if he didn't get out of Plagueis' way then the Dark Lord of the Sith would shatter every bone in his body, naturally the Chagrian Sith took offense to that and dove at him with the intent of cleaving his body in two however Plagueis' two Lightsabers jumped into his hand and he blocked the two quick pace slices with his two Lightsabers before releasing a blast of Telekinetic energy and sending Wyyrlok plunging through the large doors he had previous guarded.

"Enough, Wyyrlok!" commanded Darth Krayt from within the room, his shape becoming defined as Plagueis made his way in. "I will speak with the intruder, myself."

"Greetings Darth Krayt, Dark Lord of the Sith," bowed Plagueis as he entered into the throne room, only out of respect. "I come to you seeking an alliance, the Podrace of history is on the move and those that cannot keep up will be left behind, the Lords of Chaos are rising."

"So I have sensed, but what position would my One Sith have in such an… alliance," questioned Krayt, resting back on the stone throne in the room. "I have to think about my Sith philosophy after all."

"We plan to give you answerable power over one of the twelve Powerbases that the Rule the new Empire, within the Sphere of Military Offense you may nourish you're… One Sith as you see fit and make a personal cult out of it, only remember that as a Dark Council member you would be answerable to our one true Master as the entire Empire would be under the control of the Sphere of the Emperor's Will. Other than that, working and following the decisions of the Emperor," explained Plagueis, calmly. "We would have absolute power over the Empire, we would rule as Kings under that of an Emperor."

"I will consider your offer, but remember this, and you have no Empire… yet. Prove to all that your Master is worthy of my loyalty and make an impression upon the Galaxy," requested Krayt, politically. "Only then, will I join you at our Master's side."

"I thank you for this audience, Lord Krayt. I hope you come to a decision that is beneficial for both of our parties," bowed Plagueis, respectfully, before turning and marching out of the Throne Room.

"My Lord, why did you…" started Darth Wyyrlok, but Krayt simply held up a hand for silence.

"A Lord of Chaos commands him, Wyyrlok. It was best not to anger him or his Master, XoXaan once told me that back when the Rakata were still at large in the Galaxy, there was a rebellion here on Korriban. The Sith rebelled, it was incredible," explained Darth Krayt, a small smile on his lips. "But the Lords of Chaos of that era were allies of the Rakata, in rage of their Rebellion a Lord of Chaos caused an explosion of Dark side energy, he generated a massive storm that turned the once fertile lands of Korriban into the Tainted deserts you see today. Obedience or Ignorance to a Lord of Chaos's Will, is better, than outright extinction and that is the reason we shall wait to see how the die cast or why we act respectful to their representatives."

"But I don't understand, Master. Where do the Lords of Chaos come from?" asked Wyyrlok, causing Krayt to smile at his apprentice and most loyal to servants within the One Sith, as he sat back and began to tell the story of Abeloth and her sons.

* * *

Ben's rage and agony was infinite as he seethed at the pacing Lady Aprepeia with a glare that could melt even a star should Ben have had the power currently to do so, Aprepeia had pumped Ben full of so much Toxins and poisons meant to generate pain and death however Ben's anger at this obscene witch seemed to be purging the more dangerous from his body, however that just made it all the more painful and seemed to make Aprepeia annoyed by the fact that nothing had yet been able to make a lasting impression on Ben.

"Odd, truly. Where does this Dark power come from? How does it burn out the injections I put into you?" pondered Aprepeia, but suddenly a frown came over her face, second before Alarms started to sound.

_"My Lady, incoming Vessels, they seem to be a small group of Commandos!"_ announced Vestara Khai's voice, over the announcement system.

"Hmm? Why didn't Shelia warn me? Ah well, I will have you taken to a cell until I eliminate the intruders," announced Aprepeia, as she gave Ben another dose of Sith poison. "Sith poison seems to be the only thing your body accepts, although not with the death causing effects I expected."

"I'm going to kill you for this, you and everyone aboard!" hissed Ben, and Aprepeia smirked.

"Such a promise will exhaust yourself and the attempt will lead to your death, take a note from the Sith rule book. Concentrate your revenge, not on the populace of worlds or on the weak," educated Aprepeia, calmly. "But on the powerful, and those that deserve it. I may be the grand architect of everything that has happened to you, but it was Vestara Khai that thought up the plan and Gavar Khai that revealed false information to the Jedi through an intermediary in the Galactic Alliance."

"Oh, they will be the first on my list. Mark my words!" growled Ben, but doubting the truthfulness of the Jedi's words, Aprepeia left the room laughing as two Sith entered and dragged Ben away.

* * *

A female laugh filled the Cell that Ben was being held in as he was dumped on the floor and the energy field acting as the 'door' was raised again, the woman had long black hair and cruel blue eyes which flashed yellow during her moment of glee at the suffering of the boy before her, all she received from the fifteen year old was a fiery glare that made her be silent but also pout at how 'boring' Ben was being.

"Shut up Temero, if I had the choice I would not be in this place with you!" snarled Ben, the female Sith only smirked at his statement.

"Oh don't worry, our opportunity at escape is approaching," announced Temero, as she crossed her Legs and entered a meditative pose. "Courtesy of Darth Stygius."

* * *

Darth Ferrum led his commandos through the Space station as Aprepeia sent her droid army upon them however at the shouting of a few override commands the opposite was happening as the Droids turned on their alleged masters, sensing where the real Darth Temero was and an immensely powerful Force sensitive he began directing his Forces in a way that drew enemy Sith to that location and smirked.

* * *

Darth Temero smirked darkly as she continued to face the entrance of her Cell and sent a warning to Ben to be prepared, in the hallway outside Blaster rifle fire was occurring and two Sith were blocking Blaster fire with a secondary Lightsaber loosely held on each of their belts, using the Force she redirected the aim of the last droid towards the control panel which exploded and released the Force field. Using the last droid as a distraction, but Temero and Ben launched themselves forward and using the Force pulled the secondary Lightsabers from the belts of the two Sith, slashing them down and killing them before they found a possible moment to turn to face the new threat before them.

"Not very Jedi-like," commented Temero, with her smirk in place. "Are you?"

"Shut up, and come on!" yelled Ben, running towards the Brig's nearest exit, Temero smiled slyly before following.

* * *

Vestara Khai was panicking now as she looked about the communication station and attempted to dictate which section of the Space Station had been occupied, she and her father had been working in the best interests of the Tribe when they agreed to work with Lady Aprepeia in a coup against Darth Stygius, along with her father she had agreed with High Lord Sarasu Taalon that exceeding the purposes of the Sith the safety of the Tribe was more important for the Tribe forged the survival of the Sith. However it seemed that Stygius' Forces were a lot more skilled and organized than her father had anticipated and they had almost broken Ben Skywalker to the Dark side, but in the process risked him being infuriated at them and siding with Stygius against their goals.

_"Vestara, deal with the escapees,"_ commanded Lady Aprepeia, over a Holocommunication, from an unknown location. _"I shall deal with the infiltrators."_

"As you wish, my Lady," agreed Vestara, before she cut the communication and picked up her Lightsaber, before leaving the room to start her hunt.

* * *

Ben could sense her now as he walked into the Space Station's Rector Core and soon enough he saw her across from him standing with her Lightsaber ready, the reactor was below them and two walkways moved clockwise making a large circle with a gap in the middle like a large doughnut, as Ben stalked forwards like a feral animal Temero walked behind slower to give Ben his space as she watched what he was going to do next with the evident glee of a bloodshed loving Sith Lord.

"Ben, I am sorry it has come to this," spoke Vestara, sadly. "I find that I never wanted to hurt you personally, but I have to do what is best for the Tribe."

"That is too bad, Vestara," replied Ben, bluntly and harshly. "Because I really want to hurt you, I want to hurt you until you lie bloody at my feet!"

Ben leaped the gap while activating his borrowed Lightsaber with a yell and soon found himself in a blade lock with the Sith girl, he pulled away and stabbed towards her midsection however she rolled away and drew her Shikkar in an attempt to plant the dagger into Ben's back when he spun away from her next attack, Ben was too quick however and dodged around her next slash before swiping down on Vestara with such strength that when she lifted her Shikkar to defend it went spinning down into the reactor below. Darth Temero, meanwhile, watched gleefully from the entrance as Ben slowly beat down Vestara before disarming her of her Lightsaber with a burst of Force lightning which caused both the Sith Lord and the Jedi some surprise.

Finally, Vestara lay there defenseless as Ben moved towards her and she could not open her mouth to say anything as in blinding fury Ben had already stabbed through her chest and had taken a step back, his head tilted back as he sighed out all his anger and aggression specifically when it came to the now dying Tribe woman before him. If Ben was going to complete his quest for vengeance, then he need not waste any more energy on Vestara, her signature in the Force eventually fading while a smirking Temero walked towards Ben with a look of utter and complete glee on her face.

Ben only just felt the handle of a Lightsaber at the back of his skull, before it was pulled back and struck him on his lower skull causing him to fall to the floor unconscious, the Keshiri Darth Ferrum standing over him with a scowl on his face.

* * *

Lady Aprepeia chuckled at the stupidity of his Majesty's Wrath and of Vestara Khai for actually entertaining the possibility that Aprepeia would keep her word, the rogue Sith Lady had had no intent to challenge Darth Ferrum and his commandoes to a battle when she could instead climb about her Star Courier and leave the system, an objective which she was attempting now as she lifted her Vessel off the floor of her Private Hanger and soared out of the Hanger on the full power of her Ion engines and didn't pull back on the speed until she was far enough away from Felucia 's gravity to jump to Lightspeed.

Only then, once she was outside the reach of her new… rival, did she sit back and allow her mind and emotions to run wild – to empower her – as she thought up what next she could do to survive Darth Stygius and make her mark on the Galaxy now that her power-base was… decimated. With a smirk, the woman patiently relaxed back into the chair and closed her eyes to sleep, the answer would eventually come to her and she was good at being patient. Action could wait until a more opportune time.


	6. Chapter 6

The _Eidolon_-class Cruiser _Eidolon_ – one of the Vessels procured in the Felucia system – moved elegantly through a lifeless Star System that despite being ripe with resources didn't seem capable of harbouring any type of life, but what was at the heart of the system orbiting the northern pole of the system's Primary Star was far more important, cloaked in a crimson armour material that shined in the sun's glow and from its spherical surface producing massive towers out of its sides going up and down. Darth Illusio had seen the design before from, an ancient Rakata Holocron that had been used to create the Sun Razer and to update the Razer's design into the current Star Harvester, before him was a Star Forge – a massive Space Station that served as a terrifyingly productive Space based Factory that could create the greatest military the Galaxy had ever seen.

Incidentally, the Star Forge in design based itself around the mass production of space Vessels and the minor production of other necessities: producing Droids in minor numbers and crafting garments that would enhance the wearer's connection to and protection from the Dark side or even other objects and possibly food stuffs, the limit of a Star Forge's production – like the Foundry – was unrecorded but both were said to be capable of dominating worlds and changing the Galaxy itself. For Lord Piras, during the fall of the Rakata Infinite Empire, to have decided to craft this as a gift to Lord Stygius was unheard of and yet he had had to have set the construction of it in motion it could be assumed that the only attempt of surviving its armament and Droid forces would be the droid beside him that had been programed with the information required to enter the station safely.

"Commentary: It has been so long since I've been to a station of this design," commented HK-80, remarking at its 'memories' when it was known as HK-47.

"I assume you are talking about the time that you served under the Sith Lords Darth Revan and Darth Malak, their research into the ancient Rakata at the time was truly inspirational to our efforts," announced Darth Illusio, as he continued to stare out the viewpoint. "One could say that the Star Harvester is a detrimental example of the assimilation of Rakatan technologies."

"Statement: Do cease all small talk, I am currently attempting to connect to the Space Station's main computer," sniped HK-80, as it continued to stare out the window. "However you may prepare the _Eidolon_ for docking with the… 'Chaos Forge', I require complete independence and privacy if I am to ensure the survival of your boarding party meatbags, and to ensure that the Forge sides with our Empire."

* * *

Darth Marr smirked behind his helmet as he stepped off the Turbolift and onto the bridge of the _Insidious_-class Dreadnought: _Insidious_, a three thousand meter long Star Destroyer design based identically off the _Harrower_-class Dreadnought used by the Sith Empire of Marr's Era and was therefore a larger, longer armed equivalent of the _Gladiator_-class Star Destroyer. It was surrounded outside by a small fleet of _Eidolon_-class Cruisers and _Corona_-class Frigates, its small fleet also had the two thousand meters long _Predator_-class Star Destroyers that stood guard on either flanks of the large Dreadnoughts, all together there were at least thirteen Vessels that made up the small fleet including the _Insidious_ and its Star Destroyer escorts.

"My Lord, we have gotten the ship underway and the fleet awaits your command," announced Captain Tavon, as he stepped forwards.

"Our mission is to secure and blockade the Belsavis system for an unspecified period of time, the mission may not seem relevant but it is vital to the Emperor's long-term plans," explained Darth Marr, as he walked the gantry followed by Tavon. "Am I understood?"

"Cleanly, sir," announced Tavon, with a bow, before turning to the rest of the bridge. "Bring all systems up and contact the fleet, coordinate the jump coordinates for Belsavis's orbit and prepare all Vessels for a coordinated jump to Lightspeed, eta five minutes. Once all Vessels have dropped out of Lightspeed, power up all weapons and energy shields, launch all Fighters!"

* * *

Ben wandered a familiar landscape and he stood in the shadow of a Volcano that stood overhead like a pillar of rock and fire, down two different paths with one that led to a courtyard sat the Font of Power while down another path was a dank grotto that Ben knew held the Pool of Knowledge, and as Ben turned around he saw Dhor Kutla standing there calmly as though awaiting an old friend despite the deadly terrain they stood in.

"Greetings Ben, I have a question," announced Dhor seriously, before pointing his arms in two different directions. "Which would you choose if given the choice, Power or Knowledge?"

"Both," answered Ben, without hesitation, promoting a brief clap of hands from Dhor.

"I am very glad that you are learning, if you consider that Knowledge is of the Light side and Power is of the Dark side," complimented Dhor, with a smile. "Then you have learned a vital lesson, one should strive to gain Power and Knowledge – gain mastery over both the Dark side and the Light side, to reach one's ultimate potential."

"Is all this theory talk relevant to what is happening with the Sith?" asked Ben, and Dhor made a dismissive wave.

"This information is relevant to your awareness beyond the Jedi teachings and the following of your own path, the Jedi of the Old Republic fell because they were unable to adapt beyond their strict moral code," explained Dhor, calmly. "Even if you don't become a Jedi anymore, you understand the base principles on walking your own path, I complement that skill."

"Thanks, I suppose," thanked Ben and Dhor nodded, turning away but looked over his shoulder once again.

"Don't worry, we'll meet again soon, sooner than you think. The Sith are moving throughout the Galaxy and you should meet up with your father and go to Ziost, there you shall find a Dark Lord of the Sith. Think of it as a… test of your abilities," announced Dhor, and then the vision faded away.

* * *

Darth Stygius stepped out of _Ship_ with elegant ease as he stepped down on the former capital world of the Sith Empire back when he terrorized the Stygian Caldera under the name Tulak Hord, Darth Plagueis stood waiting off to one side as the dark masked Stygius crossed over to his fellow Dark Lord of the Sith and the two of them calmly walked the ruins of this once mighty capital world, rumors had reached the Sith of a Holocron on the planet Ziost that would lead the Sith to a hidden stash of Sith and was another lead to finding the successor to Darth Nox.

"What do you think, on the likeliness of finding this rumor, to be true?" asked Stygius, provoking Plagueis to shrug.

"It isn't so much a rumor, many Lords of the Sith sought out to find this legendary Holocron and its treasures," announced Plagueis, calmly. "However… none returned, there must be some truth to the rumor, to cost so many lives and waste so much potential resources over the centuries for the last two millennium."

"Then I hope we are successful," agreed Stygius, as he motioned for Plagueis to continue on ahead. "I must make a Holocall, excuse me."

* * *

Ben Skywalker sat up from the sofa he lay on and found himself surprised when he saw that he was currently in a hotel on Corellia with a bleeping Holocom on the table, reaching over he looked at the time and noticed that it had exactly been a day since he had been placed in the claws of Lady Aprepeia to be a guinea pig in her experiments, not caring about his apparent nakedness he activated the Holocom causing the very familiar and real – for a Hologram – form of Dhor Kutla in the not-so flesh.

_"I trust you enjoyed your nap, sorry that I could not be there when you finally awoke,"_ announced Dhor, through the Holocommunication, he seemed to be wearing ruffled Black robes that could be worn by either Jedi or Sith. _"Regardless, that Penthouse Suite is yours to do as you wish under an alias name of course and the people in control of that hotel are people who have my complete faith and trust, I have also contacted your father anonymously and ensured that he knows you are on Corellia and will be here to pick you up."_

"Down to business already, huh?" asked Ben, a bored expression on his face, hiding his disappointment.

_"Don't worry, I promised we would meet soon and I keep to my word, trust me. I'll see you soon,"_ dismissed Dhor calmly, before deactivating the Holocommunication from his side.

* * *

Admiral and current Galactic Alliance Chief of State, Natasi Daala sighed quietly as she stared out of the window of her office, watching the day-to-day activities of the Galactic City that sat as the Capital of Coruscant and the seat of the Galactic Alliance's power. Her chair was turned away from its desk and a number of vital reports lined the screen of her desk computer, suddenly the small HoloNet transceiver beeping to indicate she had an encrypted transmission coming from across the Galaxy to her location, with a frown and wondering who it could be the Chief of State turned around her chair and pressed the activator causing the Hologram of a black robed man wearing a black mask to appear.

"Who are you? How did you get this private contact address!?" questioned Daala annoyed, glaring at the small hologram.

_"Who I am is relevant. How I gained contact with you is irrelevant. I suppose you wish to know my name, I am Stygius and I am in a position to help you with your… Jedi problem,"_ announced Stygius calmly through the Holocommunication, motioning with his holographic right hand. _"I know you have been having trouble with them."_

"Very well, I am willing to receive opinions of my leadership," agreed Daala calming down, as she sat back in her chair. "But I do not trust you, you are a private source, how do I not know that you are attempting to fulfill your own goals and agendas?"

"I hope, in time Chief Daala," stated Stygius, his hologram flickering lightly. "That you will come to trust me, and I you, as our partnership develops."

"Very well, now tell me what you require I am to know…" motioned Daala, and the Hologram nodded slightly, as their pact was formed.

* * *

Plagueis pressed buttons on the control panel as he activated the unfreezing process for a number of Carbonite encased Sith and Sith troopers in the Hanger-like concert hall that had been waiting to be awakened for over three and-a-half thousand years, Plagueis had found it by will alone as he sensed for presences in the Force that still existed on the planet and eventually sought out Midi-Chlorians that had resided here until eventually he had sensed the Midi-Chlorians struggling to escape inactive in their Carbonite prisons, finally having arrived here he had prepared for the unfreezing of the Sith and had been well on his way just as Stygius walked through the doorway.

"Consider, Plagueis," requested Stygius suddenly, after a moment of silence. "Why there is one Carbonite casing recently lacking its prisoner?"

Plagueis flounder for an answer but Stygius answered instead when he activated his Lightsaber and raised it above and behind him in time as a Red-skinned Dathomirian Zabrak wearing Armour from the Sith Empire during the time of Vitiate and wielding a Double-bladed Lightsaber struck out at Stygius, Stygius answered this with a kick to the brute's gut but it seemed that a single kick would not have the desired affect due to wall of defined muscle that the Zabrak was made of, Stygius grunted lightly as he flipped over the Zabrak when it had swung up its secondary blade up in an attempt to cleave Stygius in two.

The Zabrak stabbed backwards at the last moment and Stygius cursed as he moved slightly gaining only the edge of a slice of a lightsaber on his left side, the Zabrak suddenly fluttered out of existence as he engaged Force stealth and moved around to prepare to attack the Lord of Chaos and Plagueis was impressed by the Zabrak's Mastery of the Darkside immediately dismissed his original chain of thought where he believed that it was just an imitation of his own apprentice's first apprentice: Darth Maul, but considering the storm of power raising in Stygius the new Dark Lord of the Sith was about to be domesticated as tradition demanded and brought to heel by his new master.

The Zabrak charged from behind Stygius but the Ruling Dark Lord of the Sith turned and surprised the Zabrak with a punch to the face, Stygius then followed up by slicing the handle of the Double-bladed Lightsaber in two so that it became useless to the red skinned Sith before kneeing the Zabrak in the stomach as Stygius smacked the Zabrak across the back with a metal crate with such surprising strength thus causing the Zabrak to spin over Stygius' kicking leg and fall to the floor on his back.

"That is enough, forgive Darth Sicarius, my Lord. He did not recognize a Lord of Chaos when he saw one," announced a Pureblood Sith, as he entered the room, much to Plagueis and Stygius' surprise. "I am Darth Vowrawn."

"As in the Darth Vowrawn that sat beside Darth Marr on the Dark Council?" asked Plagueis, and Vowrawn nodded.

"Forgive me, my Lord," announced Darth Sicarius, who had rolled away and stood up. "I was trying to prove to my Master that I am capable of being his equal."

"I never doubted that, my apprentice," huffed Vowrawn, annoyed.

"Indeed, then if you would be willing Vowrawn, I would have you and your apprentice on my Dark Council. We need powerful Sith," commanded Stygius, as waved outside the viewpoint towards not only Soldiers but members of the Sith species, awakening from Carbonite. "If you will take the rank, I would have you Vowrawn return as the Head of the Sphere of Production and Logistics, and you Sicarius I would have as the Head of the Sphere of Mysteries and therefore Master of the Empire's assassination efforts."

"It would be our honor," bowed Vowrawn, Sicarius following suite.

"Good, now Sicarius will remain with me here on Ziost while the two of you ferry our new subjects up to the _Black Talon_," directed Stygius, as he walked towards the entrance, pausing only to look over his shoulder. "Be prepared, we have guests coming."


End file.
